Across the piazza is the Baptistery of Saint John. It predates the cathedral by some time, built in 1059, and is where everyone went to get baptized as the name would imply. All of the Medici's got baptized here as well as such notables as Dante. The main door was designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti, but actually made by the sculptor Francesco Rustici with help from Leonardo da Vinci. It's entirely made of bronze in 28 panels and took 21 years to finish. On it's own this would be an impressive little building, but the cathedral across the way kind of steals it's thunder.
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